Sweeter Than Fiction
by WritingWings
Summary: Kate Beckett's life was turned inside out and upside down when she was 19. Ten years later, a certain writer does the same, choosing her as the inspiration for his next character. But their story turns out to be sweeter than any book he could write. Inspired by TaySway's newest song. "Sweeter Than Fiction."


Hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground

Only sound, only sound you hear is "no"

You never saw it coming

Slipped when you started running

And now you come undone and I, I, I, I

* * *

Kate Beckett would always remember the day her world fell out from under her. The day when she and her father returned home to find Detective Raglan waiting for them. He told them Johanna Beckett was dead, murdered in an alley in Chelsea. That day changed everything.

She dropped out of Stanford and returned to New York. Her dream of being a lawyer was tossed aside. Instead, she enrolled in the Police Academy. Her sole goal to become a detective, to find the person who killed her mother.

As soon as she graduated, she hit the ground running. Every spare minute, every break, even off-duty hours were spent down in the records room looking for something in that file someone missed. The superior officers, fellow rookies, everyone told her she would never solve it. Royce, her training officer, was the only one who understood. but she still slipped down the rabbit hole, a few more inches every day. Enough for Royce to notice, but not enough for Kate to realize she wasn't okay. That's when she met Montgomery.

He pulled her back from the brink. He gave her something for which to work. Her own loss made her tenacious and determined. But even he could not completely dispel the darkness that tortured Kate Beckett.

Ten years after her mother was killed, Richard Castle walked into her life.

* * *

"No bridge and tunnel, no trace of the Burroughs when you talk. That says Manhattan, that says money. You went to college, probably a pretty good one. Yeah, you had options, better options, more socially acceptable options, and you still chose this. That tells me something happened. Not to you. No, you're wounded, but you're not that wounded. It was someone you cared about, someone you loved. And might have been able to live with that, but the person responsible was never caught. And that, Detective Beckett, is why you're here."

Beckett stared at this man, this man who had known her for all of three minutes, yet had read her and knew her story like he wrote it.

"Cute trick," she choked out. "Don't think you know me."

* * *

Seen you fall, seen you crawl on your knees

Seen you lost in a crowd, seen your colors fade

Wish I could make it better

Someday you won't remember this pain you thought would last forever and ever

* * *

But he saw more than she knew. He saw the darkness that shrouded her, but every now and then, a pinprick of light made it out to the world. Castle wished he could let the light free. After she told him about her mom, he bribed Esposito with Knicks tickets to get him the case file. He started investigating. When Kate found out, she told him they were done. Yet somehow, he found his way back into her life.

Castle watched her carefully, waiting for her go back down the rabbit hole. Then, she had to shoot Dick Coonan. Then, Raglan was killed before he could tell her anything. Castle saw her start to slip into the dark. No matter the front she put on for the precinct or even for him, Castle saw through it. He saw the pain she carried. Then, Lockwood shanked McAllister in his bed. Then, Montgomery sacrificed himself. Then, a sniper's bullet found Kate's heart.

* * *

Just a shot, just a shot in the dark

All you got, all you got are your shattered hopes

They never saw it coming

You hit the ground running

And now you're on to something and I, I, I say

* * *

Against all odds, she had lived. But she had shut Castle out. This time, she had walked back into his life. He was justifiably angry, but he had forgiven her. And he had come back to the precinct, much to the new captain's chagrin.

Castle watched Kate heal and she proved him right: she was extraordinary. Throughout that year after she came back, they grew closer. She occasionally held his hand. Neither of them dated. It was a tacit understanding that they were waiting for each other. He saw her through the sniper case, when she was so close to breaking all over again. Then, Maddox had come. And Castle walked away. He knew she remembered and he loved her too much to watch her destroy herself. She knew he had lied to her. But as she hung from that rooftop, all she could think about was him, just him.

She quit. Then, she walked through the pouring rain to sit on 'their' swings. Then, she went to his apartment.

She kissed him, and begged him to understand that the only thing she wanted in the world was him. He pushed her away. Then, he saw the tears on her cheeks and she saw the ice in his eyes melt.

"What happened?"

"He got away and I didn't care. I almost died and all I could think about was you. I just want you."

* * *

What a sight, what a sight when the light came on

Proved me right, proved me right when you proven them wrong

And in this perfect weather it's like we don't remember

This rain we thought would last forever and ever

* * *

Now, Kate had some peace. Bracken had been caught. Castle had never seen Kate stand so tall as she had when she announced herself in Bracken's and told him he was under arrest for premeditated murder and extortion. The governor honored Kate in a special ceremony. The newspapers and hailed her a hero in exposing corruption. But his Kate didn't really care about the acclaim. She had a made a difference. She had closure and she given closure to the families of Bracken's other victims. That was what matter to her.

* * *

I'll be one of the many saying "Look at you now, look at you now, now."

I'll be one the many saying "You made us proud, you made us proud, proud."

And when they call your name

And they put your picture in a frame

You know that I'll be there time and again 'cause I loved you when, when you

* * *

All four years of their relationship flicked through Castle's mind, every loaded smile, every meaningful look, every fight, every forgiveness, in the time it took Kate to walk across the beach from their house in the Hamptons on her father's arm in a white dress.

When Jim Beckett stopped near the water's edge, he hugged his daughter and Castle heard him whisper, "We're so proud of you, Katie."

Then, he placed Kate's hand in Rick's. Castle lifted his bride's hand to his lips and kissed it. Not an hour later, they were officially man and wife and they sealed their vows with a kiss to the cheers and whistles of their friends and family.

Four years ago, neither Rick nor Kate imagined that their lives would intersect and twine together into a story that proved sweeter than any fiction.

* * *

There you'll stand ten feet tall

I will say, "I knew it all along."

Your eyes-wider than distance

This life-sweeter than fiction

There you'll stand, next to me

All at once, the rest is history

Your eyes-wider than distance

This life-sweeter than fiction


End file.
